Panel of Speakers

Host/ MC
Margaret E. Ward, Financial Journalist & Broadcaster
Margaret is an award-winning financial journalist, broadcaster, author and small business owner. She is known for “telling it like it is” and combining humour with finance and economics. Although she’s spent most of her 25-year career as a print journalist — The Irish Times’ business and personal finance columnist and The Sunday Times’ Money Editor — Margaret also presented Newstalk’s Breakfast Business programme during the bailout period. She is a regular contributor to radio and TV and managing director of Clear Ink, a global clear English consultancy based in Dublin, Ireland.

Panelists
David Begg, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)
David Begg became General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) in 2001. For five years prior to that he was Chief Executive of Concern Worldwide, an international humanitarian organisation working in 27 countries and with offices in Dublin, London, Belfast, New York and Chicago. David is a Governor of the Irish Times Trust, a non-Executive Director of Aer Lingus, and a member of the National Economic and Social Council (NESC). From 1995 to 2010 he was a Director of the Irish Central Bank. He also sits on the Executive Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). He holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from Dublin City University.

Glenna Lynch, Mimosa Interiors
Glenna Lynch is a Stillorgan businesswoman, owner of Mimosa Interiors, with a strong interest in current affairs. She became known for questioning Seán Gallagher’s business ethics at a Frontline debate during last year’s presidential election, and has since been a contributor to various shows including Today with Pat Kenny, Tonight with Vincent Browne and Frontline.

Jim Power, Economist
Jim Power is a graduate of University College Dublin with a BA in Economics and Politics and a Master’s Degree in Economic Science. He has previously worked as the Chief Economist at Bank of Ireland Group and the Treasury Economist at AIB Group. Jim is a board member of Agri Aware and is Chairperson of Love Irish Food, an organisation working to help consumers make informed choices about buying Irish manufactured food and drinks. In the past he has served as a member of the Fáilte Ireland taskforce on a strategy for tourism. Jim lectures on Finance and Economics subjects at Dublin City University and at the Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, University College Dublin. He also writes a weekly column in the Irish Examiner and contributes to numerous other newspapers and magazines on an occasional basis.

Dr Jane Suiter, Lecturer, Researcher & Political Analyst
Dr Jane Suiter is a researcher, political analyst and lecturer in the Department of Government, University College Cork. Her research interests centre around political economy, or the interaction between economics and political science, participative democracy and citizen engagement. She has a particular interest in pork barrel politics and economic voting on a comparative European basis. Dr Suiter is co-founder of www.politicalreform.ie and also co-founder and academic adviser of We The Citizens, a pilot citizen assembly. She is the former project manager of the Irish National Election Study, and has also worked for a variety of media organisations including the Irish Times, the Sunday Times, the Sunday Independent, the Financial Times Group and AP Dow Jones. Dr Suiter is a graduate of University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin, with a BA in Economics and Politics and a PhD in Political Economy.

Senator Jillian van Turnhout, Vice Chairperson of European Movement Ireland
Senator Van Turnhout is Vice Chairperson of European Movement Ireland and has been heavily involved in EU affairs for many years, most notably since her time as President of the National Youth Council of Ireland. She was a Member of the European Economic and Social Committee for twelve years, from 1998. From October 2006 to October 2008, Jillian was Vice President of the EESC. Her involvement in the EESC included: Social Affairs, External Relations and Communications. Jillian also represented the EESC on the Steering Group of the EU Forum on the Rights of the Child and the EU-China Round Table. Jillian also previously served as Chief Executive at Children’s Rights Alliance, Chief Commissioner at Irish Girl Guides and is currently a Board Member of Women for Election and Chair of Early Childhood Ireland.

Here’s some food for thought
LAND ACQUISITIONS
Iceland: http://www.grapevine.is/Features/ReadArticle/China-and-Iceland-Friends-With-Benefits

DAIRY DEVELOPMENT
New Zealand court halts Chinese dairy deal

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/03d0a622-57bf-11e1-ae89-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1uDBrhqPW

New Zealand approves deal for Chinese to buy 16 dairy farms

http://shanghaiist.com/2012/04/23/pengxin-nz-crafar-farms.php

China grows its dairy farms with global cattle drive:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303863404577281302732745814.html

ENVIRONMENTAL RECORD
China’s environmental track record in Africa:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-09-09/africa-s-new-friend-china-finances-9-3-billion-of-hydropower.html

HUMAN RIGHTS
China’s human rights violations:

http://www.amnestyusa.org/our-work/countries/asia-and-the-pacific/china

PRESS FREEDOM
Al Jazeera’s Beijing bureau closed

http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/al-jazeera-beijing-china-bureau-closed-melissa-chan-visa-refused/s2/a549116/

Before we get into bed with the Chinese shouldn’t we be asking about the potential risks?

What do you think?

Risteard Cooper, master of ceremonies for the night, said the judges thought “What is striking about insolvencyjournal.ie is the quality of its execution. Great content, up-to-date, with very high quality visuals used to illustrate data. It is a fantastic example of how good content can keep browsers on the site and more importantly coming back for more,” he said.

The Insolvency Journal attracts over 40,000 visits a month – an impressive number for a site that only began in late 2008 and launched officially in February 2009. The site provides  insolvency news, features, opinion and statistics from Ireland and the world.  It has fast become one of the top industry resources for insolvency-related news and analysis.

Clear Ink managing director Margaret E. Ward said “We’re very proud of Clear Ink’s veteran editorial team: Larry, Philip, Doug and Colleen. Their work on the site was both outstanding and innovative. They went the extra mile for the client – working weekends, providing free editorial advice and developing many, many contacts over the last year. Thanks also to the brilliant tech master at amweb, Cormac, and the design team at Rain.”

Based on the success of Clear Ink’s many specialist editorial websites during 2009 (accountancy, law, business/economics, over 50s, journalism, marketing)  Ward says the firm plans to expand its independent editorial services to other professions. “Specialist industries have a huge need for high quality, well researched news, behind-the-scenes analysis and lively features. We’re very fortunate to work with some of Ireland’s most highly regarded broadsheet journalists in providing quality content for our clients. Their journalistics skills and integrity really add to the depth of understanding in each of the industries they cover.”